History

1976 – 1982

Hawaiian surfers Randy Rarick and Fred Hemmings organize a collection of disparate unaffiliated pro surfing events around the world into the first world championship tour by developing an international ranking system and encouraging the world's best surfers to get involved. Their organization, International Professional Surfers (IPS) becomes the original world governing body of professional surfing. Champions included Peter “PT” Townend (AUS), Shaun Tomson (ZAF), Wayne “Rabbit” Bartholomew (AUS), Mark “MR” Richards (AUS), Margo Oberg (USA), Lynn Boyer (HAW) and Debbie Beacham (USA).

1983 – 2014

Former World No. 2 surfer Ian "Kanga" Cairns evolves the original IPS concept into the Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP), providing a joint ownership and control of the sport for both the event organizers and the surfers on tour. In the mid-1990s, the ASP's focus shifted to the 'Dream Tour' concept, encouraging event organizers to transition their venues from well-populated, metropolitan areas to remote locations with high-quality surf. The Dream Tour birthed the company philosophy of, “world's best surfers, world's best waves,” which remains the organization's guiding principle to this day. Notable champions include Tom Carroll (AUS), Tom Curren (USA), Kelly Slater (USA), Andy Irons (HAW), Mick Fanning (AUS) and Gabriel Medina (BRA) as well as Wendy Botha (ZAF), Freida Zamba (USA), Lisa Andersen (USA), Layne Beachley (AUS), Stephanie Gilmore (AUS) and Carissa Moore (HAW). In addition, this era opened its doors to both embrace the future and acknowledge the past in the creation of the junior and masters tours.

2015 – Present

The World Surf League (WSL) steps in to help evolve the ASP into a more potent centralized body, overseeing the key product areas of the elite men's and women's World Championship Tours, the Qualifying Series (QS), the Big Wave Tour, the Big Wave Awards, the World Longboard Championships and the World Junior Championships. In addition to its headquarters in Santa Monica, California, the WSL has a commercial office in New York City and regional offices in Japan, Australia, France, South Africa, Brazil, Hawaii and Southern California.

Historic Results

The 2016 season marked the first time in more than a decade that a Hawaiian won the men's world championship. For the women, two familiar luminaries of the sport made way for a new champion. See the breakdown below.
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